1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a game that is compact and portable and can be played in restaurants or during travel for both entertainment and for educational purposes; and more particularly to an educational restaurant and travel game system having a plurality of educational games of varying subject matters housed within a compact portable container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Games can be played for educational purposes to enhance children's various skills. Utilization of games which focus on particular subject matters provides a resourceful educational tool that is entertaining and can be socializing for children of different ages. Reading, memory, and math skills encompass subject matters many game devices typically cater towards. Conventional educational game devices are appointed to be played in the home or other like environments, and are not adapted to be played during travel or when families are out-of-home. As such, time spent during travel, doctor office visits, restaurants, and the other like out-of-home activities is spent idle, causing children to become bored and, at times, to act out. Even where travel games do exist, these games typically focus on improving a single subject matter, and fail to include a single travel container in which are disposed a plurality of games that focus on a plethora of subject matters.
Educational game devices of the conventional type generally involve game boards appointed to be played at home and include game board playing surfaces and various play pieces. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,635,360 to Bishop discloses an educational work board for practicing spelling, number work and the like, constructed with pockets appointed to accommodate cards. U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,336 to Krause discloses a word association game including a board having letters and numerals arranged circumferentially thereon about an axis, a pointer, and playing pieces. U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,577 to Poulos discloses a diagnostic memory skill game and method generally comprising game cards and a game board having a plurality of player areas. U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,513 to Montijo discloses a super memory educational game of skill and chance utilizing a circular game board wherein the players take turns trying to spell, pronounce and define words correctly, remember number sequences, and answer question cards.
Educational games utilizing game boards can also be found in the following: U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,296 to Lim discloses an educational board game having a play path that borders a central region geared towards educating children on how to remain safe in potentially-dangerous situations; U.S. Pat. No. 7,000,920 to Camp et al. discloses a memory engagement game including one or more game boards with openings, a plurality of game cards, and a plurality of calling cards; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0200078 to Montaldo discloses an educational science game and method of play having a primary game board or universe with a plurality of spaces marked thereon; and Foreign Patent Publication No. FR 02658428 to Marmy discloses a game using a playing surface divided into square boxes arranged in lines and in columns, and provides numerical pieces bearing integers and operating pieces bearing mathematical or logic operators. U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,230 to Anthony discloses a table game for utilizing the sense of touch and memory including a container, three dimensional objects, playing cards having visual raised relief images and corresponding descriptive text, and a view illustrating the general manner in which the game device is used and wherein the play container is the central component of the game.
These aforementioned game board devices currently utilized for playing in the home are too cumbersome for play during travel. In addition, they are not small enough in size to facilitate compact storage and mobility, and do not possess designed-in compact capability with traveling storage containers. Often times educational game board devices require longer playtime to complete and are not practical for on-the-go play during short intervals, such as during time spent waiting at a doctor's office. All of these factors make conventional board games and educational game devices impractical for use during travel. Moreover, current educational game board devices typically only provide for a single game to be played over and over again, utilizing the given board and corresponding pieces. As such, these conventional educational game board devices only provide an educational tool that enhances the highly specific subject matter to which the board and pieces are geared.
Other educationally geared games provide cards appointed with various indicia for enhancing such skills as mathematics, reading, or the like. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,143,348 to Carsen et al. discloses a game wherein game cards are provided relating to a variety of subjects and each has a question and answer face side and an information back side. U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,486 to Wallice discloses a word-forming card game wherein players are dealt cards each having a letter thereupon for forming words. U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,437 to Havard discloses an educational game for teaching phonetics providing for the use of a deck of cards having at least one main card and a plurality of secondary cards. U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,061 to Kanbar discloses a word-puzzle game cartridge having a book format and being appointed for accommodating two decks of word-puzzle playing cards. U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,899 to Haqedorn discloses a multi-functional alphabet-card game with optional diamonoidal-cards, wherein two special playing-card deck stacks are provided for teaching the alphabet, matching of objects, counting, phonics, spelling, and training of memory. U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,700 to Druce et al. discloses playing cards divided by a line into two sections which may be printed in different colors and divided into suits, and wherein easy and hard questions are printed on each card together with their answers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,356 to Jacobson et al. discloses an educational card game including a card set containing a plurality of game cards, writing surfaces, a concealment folder, a timer, a multi-sided die, and a set of writing utensils and wherein the game challenges players to win points by verbally describing images. Foreign Patent No. JP 06039080 to Hatake discloses a set of game cards constituting card sets having different symbols thereon to enhance children's mathematical skills.
While educational card game devices, as hereinabove, provide a more practical type of traveling format, these games are generally not appointed for travel and do not include a traveling storage container adapted to house a plurality of games and game pieces. Like the board game devices, the card games provide for a single game to be played over and over again, utilizing given cards that only provide educational enhancement for a specific subject matter. The aforementioned board game and card game devices fail to provide a plurality of different games each especially suited to enhance a different subject matter and the plurality of games being housed within a single carrying travel case.
Even where current educational games are more predisposed towards playing during travel, these games fail to provide a plurality of games within a single travel container. Significantly, these games fail to provide a plurality of games that are each independent of one another and are each geared towards improving different subject matter areas for children of various age groups. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,188 to Johnson discloses a question and answer game having a cube-like body provided with one or more question-carrying surfaces which are adapted to carry indicia in the form of questions of interest and advertising indicia; U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,355 to Gonzalez discloses an electronic educational game with responsive animation, wherein animated indicia is included represented by a character that moves or responds based upon whether the player gives a correct or incorrect answer; U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,526 to Martens et al. discloses a method of playing an educational game including a game board that is printed onto a conventional paper place mat wherein the board has a safety card positioning space and a sequence of counterclockwise oriented game piece spaces; U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,331 to Stuart discloses an educational interactive question and answer word deduction game that includes a circular information or playing card mounted in a generally semicircular sleeve with open areas and covered portions, wherein the playing card is rotated to reveal areas covered by the sleeve; U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,629 to McCabe discloses a word-forming game including twenty-eight playing pieces, each having a front surface with indicia thereon and adapted to face a single player, and a rear surface with indicia thereon for facing an opponent player, wherein the object of the game is to form as many words as possible from playing pieces; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0038423 to Turner et al. discloses an educational toy/game having a box and having blocks with raised shapes thereon that fit into correspondingly shaped openings in the box; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0043761 to Brecheen et al. discloses an interactive education game and method in which players conduct a dinosaur expedition.
Other devices disclosed merely provide storage for game pieces. These containers do not provide a plethora of games, each of which assists in improving a different subject matter for children. For example, U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 402,106 to Buckingham et al. discloses an ornamental design for a multiple game portable storage container providing multiple layers for storage of game pieces. However, the multiple game portable storage container does not provide multiple games therein intended to educate children in a plurality of subject matters. Rather, the container is merely adapted to house a plurality of game pieces, which would typically be required for a single game.
Notwithstanding the efforts of prior art workers to construct an educational game for providing improvement in various subject matters for children of varying ages, there remains a need in the art for an educational restaurant and travel game system utilized for travel and during moments of idle time for children, such as doctor's office and restaurant visits. In addition, there is a need in the art for an educational restaurant and travel game system that provides a plurality of educational games within a single compact container, and wherein each of the plurality of educational games is especially suited to improve different subject matter areas. Further, there is an art-recognized need for an educational restaurant and travel game system that includes a plurality of educational games including at least one reading game, math game, fine motor skills game, eye-hand coordination game, and memory enhancement and retention game and wherein each game includes a stated objective and an educational goal set forth for enhancing specific skills of each of the players.